How to buy tax-sale property in Maryland (2026)

1. 1.Watch the collector's published notice of sale, which states the date and place of the public auction; the notice must be published 4 times, once a week for 4 successive weeks, and the collector sells the property on which tax is in arrears at the time required by local law (14-808(a)(1), 14-813(a)(1))
2. 2.Register as the collector's published terms require: potential bidders must establish their eligibility by presenting evidence of the legal existence of the bidding entity, and each bidding entity is limited to a single agent at the sale (14-817(a)(4))
3. 3.Attend the sale, which is held on the day and at the place stated in the notice, in the county where the land is located; the collector may continue the sale until all property in the sale is sold (14-817(a)(1))
4. 4.Bid at public auction; all sales are to the person who makes the highest good faith accepted bid, in fee or leasehold (14-817(a)(2))
5. 5.Each parcel is sold as an entirety as assessed, and a leasehold is sold instead of the fee where the property is subject to a ground rent or 99-year renewable lease (14-814, 14-816(a))
6. 6.Expect no sale for less than the certified taxes plus interest, penalties and the expenses of the sale; the lien passes to the purchaser, and the highest bidder also pays the collector's high-bid premium if one was announced (14-817(b)(1)-(2)(v))
7. 7.Where the collector sells a group of properties, the sale may be conducted by a sealed bid process (14-817(a)(5)(iv))
8. 8.Pay, not later than the day after the sale, the full amount of taxes due, interest and penalties, the expenses of the sale and any high-bid premium; the residue of the purchase price remains on credit (14-818(a)(1)(i))
9. 9.Receive a certificate of sale under the collector's hand and seal, which states the amount paid and that the certificate is void unless foreclosure proceedings are brought within 2 years (14-820(a))
10. 10.Foreclose the right of redemption: after 6 months from the sale (9 months for owner-occupied residential property) the holder may file a complaint to foreclose all rights of redemption (14-833(a)(1)-(2))

RegistrationSigning up as a bidder before the sale. Counties set the deadlines and paperwork, which may include an application, identification, and a no-delinquent-taxes statement. See the full glossary for more terms.

Required: YesUnknown

terms set by the collector and published with a reasonable degree of specificity in the public notice of the tax sale (14-817(a)(4)); each county sets its own registration window

DepositMoney you must post before or at the sale, often a flat amount or a percentage of your bid. It is usually applied to the purchase price if you win and is often non-refundable if you fail to pay. See the full glossary for more terms.

Required: UnknownUnknown

Not verified from a source yet.

FormsPaperwork a county may collect before you can bid, such as a bidder ID card or a W-9 for tax reporting. See the full glossary for more terms.

Bidder ID card: UnknownW-9: Unknown

A potential bidder must establish eligibility for bidding by presenting evidence of the legal existence of the bidding entity that is satisfactory to the collector, and must limit representation at the sale to no more than a single agent per bidding entity (14-817(a)(4)(i)-(ii))

EligibilityRules about who may bid. Some counties restrict non-residents or bar anyone who owes delinquent taxes from participating. See the full glossary for more terms.

Residency required: UnknownNo delinquent taxes: Unknown

A potential bidder must refrain from any act, agreement, consent, or conspiracy to suppress, predetermine, rig, or fix the bidding at the sale (14-817(a)(4)(iii)); the collector retains an auctioneer's authority and may refuse bids that are not made in good faith (14-817(a)(3))

In Prince George's County a limited auction of abandoned property is open only to specified public employees, armed forces veterans employed in the county, and county residents (14-817(d)(3))

PaymentHow and when you must pay after winning. Certified or cleared funds are common and personal checks usually are not; missing the deadline typically forfeits your deposit. See the full glossary for more terms.

Unknown

Not verified from a source yet.

Sources

• Md. Code, Tax-Property 14-808(a)(1)
• Md. Code, Tax-Property 14-813(a)(1)
• Md. Code, Tax-Property 14-814
• Md. Code, Tax-Property 14-816(a)
• Md. Code, Tax-Property 14-817(a)(1)-(2)
• Md. Code, Tax-Property 14-817(a)(3)-(4)
• Md. Code, Tax-Property 14-817(a)(5)(iv)
• Md. Code, Tax-Property 14-817(b)(1)-(2)(v)
• Md. Code, Tax-Property 14-818(a)(1)(i)
• Md. Code, Tax-Property 14-820(a)
• Md. Code, Tax-Property 14-821(a)
• Md. Code, Tax-Property 14-833(a)(1)-(2)
• Prince George's County, MD, Tax Sale Bidding Rules (official county page)
• Prince George's County, MD, Tax Sale Bidding Rules (registration terms)

Maryland's collector sells the delinquent property itself at a public auction, but the purchaser buys only a certificate of sale - not title - and must foreclose the right of redemption in circuit court. The statute fixes the auction format as an in-person public auction at the place named in the published notice in the county where the land lies (14-817(a)(1)-(2)), and it also lets the collector sell groups of properties by sealed bid (14-817(a)(5)(iv)), so the format is hybrid; in practice several counties now run the statutory auction over the internet - Prince George's County states its sale is an Internet-based sealed direct-bid auction and not a live, in-person auction, and requires online registration, an IRS Form W-9, a $150 non-refundable registration fee and a $1,000 ACH deposit before bidding. The state statute leaves bidder registration mechanics, deposits and payment instruments to the collector's published terms (14-817(a)(4), 14-818(a)(1)), so those fields are unknown at state level; what it does require is that a bidder establish the legal existence of the bidding entity, use at most one agent, and not rig the bidding. Payment is heavy and immediate: not later than the day after the sale the purchaser pays the full taxes whether in arrears or not, plus interest, penalties, sale expenses and any high-bid premium, with only the residue on credit. A high-bid premium, normally 20 percent of the amount by which the bid exceeds 40 percent of full cash value, may be imposed if announced in the notice. Residency and delinquent-tax eligibility are not set by the state statute (the one residency-based restriction is the Prince George's County limited auction for certain abandoned property, open to specified public employees, veterans and county residents).